One problem faced by designers of military vehicles of all types is the increasing size, speed and penetrating ability of projectiles against which the vehicle must be defended. Adding more massive armor to the vehicle is not always practical since added mass makes the vehicle slower, less maneuverable and easier to hit with enemy fire. In addition, for military vehicles such as tanks, adding volume to accommodate armor renders the vehicle more difficult to transport to the theater of operations. Some modern tanks, for example, already use the entire width of cargo holds in the largest transport aircraft available.
My invention is a "candy cane" armor structure. The term "candy cane" pertains to the cross-sectional shape of spaced, overlapping beams that form part of the armor structure of a vehicle. The beams are contained in a generally rectangular frame detachedly fixed to the vehicle. The beams are tilted so that their outboard edges are lower than their inboard portions, whereby the beams form a continuous barrier against projectiles flying essentially horizontally toward the vehicle. The candy cane armor structure tends to deflect and shatter projectiles fired at the vehicle and then traps flying debris from the projectiles. For a given ability to stop a particular projectile, the candy cane armor has less weight, volume and cost than conventional armor.